[The Coggies] Final Awards

[DoctorFinger]

2008 Coggie Award Winners

Best Action Game
Community - Grand Theft Auto 4
Editors - Tie: Dead Space & Metal Gear Solid 4

Best Sports/Driving Game
Community - Burnout Paradise
Editors - Burnout Paradise

Gaming News Story of The Year
Community - Final Fantasy XIII going multiplatform
Editors - Vivendi and Activision merge to become Activision Blizzard

Best Multiplayer Experience
Community - Left 4 Dead
Editors - Left 4 Dead

Best Handheld Game
Community - Professor Layton & the Curious Village
Editors - God of War: Chains of Olympus

Best Downloadable Game
Community - Braid
Editors - Braid

Best Game Writing (story & dialogue)
Community - Grand Theft Auto 4
Editors - Grand Theft Auto 4

Best Visual Presentation (graphics & design)
Community - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Editors - Prince of Persia

Best Strategy Game
Community - Sins of a Solar Empire
Editors - Civilization Revolution

Best 'Alternative' or 'Oddball' Game
Community - Audiosurf
Editors - Audiosurf

Best Role Playing Game
Community - Fallout 3
Editors - Fallout 3

Most Surprising Game
Community - Braid
Editors - Braid

Most Disappointing Game
Community - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Editors - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Best Shooter
Community - Left 4 Dead
Editors - Gears of War 2

Best MMO
Community - World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
Editors - World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Most Anticipated Game of 2009 - Sequel
Community - Mass Effect 2
Editors - Tie: Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams, Mass Effect 2 & Resident Evil 5

Most Anticipated Game of 2009 - New Property
Community - Brutal Legend
Editors - Brutal Legend

Game of the Year
Community - Fallout 3
Editors - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

[Whunpo]

Nothing I really disagree with on this list, and most of the community picks are mine as well. I approve of these results!

[Troggles]

Maybe I should get Fallout 3 finally.

[Shadowstorm]

Maybe I should get Left 4 Dead finally.

[ThievesAmongUs]

Maybe I should finally play Mass Effect.

[DoctorFinger]

The result which shocked me more than any other was Mass Effect 2's domination of the Most Anticipated Sequel category. Even up against God of War 2, Bioshock 2 & Resident Evil 5, it still won the community award going away. In fact, I think it won by the second largest margin overall. I thought the first ME was very good, but I didn't think it rose to quite that level .

[rinichanraar]

I'm glad the editors picked Gears 2 for Best Shooter. I picked L4D for Best Multiplayer, but I was among the few who picked Gears 2 over L4D for the shooter category.

[Hotcod]

I only voted for it beacuse DoW2 wasn't on the list :P but really out of all the games there it has the largest potential. ME had some major flaws but a lot of how disappointing it was stemmed from it not living up to some of the grand ideas it put in place. Now that it has it's ground work established there's a chance that the next game could be one of the best in years. When you look at the games it was up against... sc2, is just an updated sc1... very little new. God of War 2, while i'm sure it will be fun, i doubt will do anything to different to it's idea... bioshock while it's an awesome game it had the feeling of a singular experience and the second one is going to have to a whole new game. RE5 so far just look likes RE4 in Africa. In other words i think ME2 has the most chance to strikes the balance between staying true to the series and evolving it's self in to something better than the past games.

All in all it's a good balance, the community i feel got it far better than the editors but that's only beacuse we are awesome. civ rev better than sins? do i smell a hit of consoleitus? :P and MGS4 better than Fallout 3? bah, last time i trust reviews from you lot....

*runs away in to the dark*

[DarkDay]

I agree with only one of these. But all good picks none the less.

[Stmfuller]

MGS 4 was good, but honestly there were better games out there.

[BLeeP]

I agree with Metal Gear Solid 4 for best overall game. It's been a long time since I've been so emotionally attached to a series, and I'm all a quiver with anticipation over a new entry (that isn't related in any way to a telephone).

[TrackZero]

The result which shocked me more than any other was Mass Effect 2's domination of the Most Anticipated Sequel category. Even up against God of War 2, Bioshock 2 & Resident Evil 5, it still won the community award going away. In fact, I think it won by the second largest margin overall. I thought the first ME was very good, but I didn't think it rose to quite that level .

I think it's because ME2 has the most potential. In the game engine, gameplay itself, narrative advances and the story (that universe...LOVE it) all have plenty of room to jack it up another notch on what was already a top game of this generation.

[Variable Gear]

Pretty disappointing awards, but sheep are sheep.

[Spigot]

Tracky hit the nail on the head. I love the ME universe and the story of the first one was pretty great, not to mention all of the various mechanics involved.

Expand the story, fix the technical quirks and have a better universe to explore (less cut & paste planetoids, more unique worldlets) and you've got my vote!

[Krispy]

Pretty disappointing awards, but sheep are sheep.

Oh I get it. We shouldn't be voting on games with budgets and advertising. Fucking sheep.

[NoName]

I'm still annoyed that Spore wasn't on the ballot for most disappointing game of the year :/. I think it had almost enough write-in's to win...

[Telefrog]

I'm glad the editors picked Gears 2 for Best Shooter. I picked L4D for Best Multiplayer, but I was among the few who picked Gears 2 over L4D for the shooter category.

I did as well. L4D is a terrific multiplayer game, but as it stands now, there just isn't enough content to give it legs.

It warms my heart to see that even with all the internet gamer backlash, people still managed to pick GTA4 for a couple of awards.

Finally, Fallout 3 is my personal pick for GotY regardless of everyone else's opinion.

[Kelegacy]

The result which shocked me more than any other was Mass Effect 2's domination of the Most Anticipated Sequel category. Even up against God of War 2, Bioshock 2 & Resident Evil 5, it still won the community award going away. In fact, I think it won by the second largest margin overall. I thought the first ME was very good, but I didn't think it rose to quite that level .

I unfortunately didn't think ME was great, but I own it anyway. I won't be grabbing the sequel. I was tremendously disappointed with Bioware and ME, but I have been since they peaked back with BG2.

[crazyD]

The result which shocked me more than any other was Mass Effect 2's domination of the Most Anticipated Sequel category. Even up against God of War 2, Bioshock 2 & Resident Evil 5, it still won the community award going away. In fact, I think it won by the second largest margin overall. I thought the first ME was very good, but I didn't think it rose to quite that level .

I dunno, Bioshock 2 is being made without Ken Levine, and all reports I have heard call the Resi 5 demo disappointing. Can't say I've ever really followed the God of War games, although I am enjoying the PSP version well enough. Even though I'm not the biggest Mass Effect fan, it got my pick over the other options.

[National Kato]

Pretty disappointing awards, but sheep are sheep.

Translation: My opinion doesn't match the majority opinion, thus everyone is stupid.

[Raen]

It's nice to see that the majority of the decisions were in synch between the community and the editors. And Variable Gear what is your problem?

[Rock Bandit]

Variable Gear is upset GTAIV didn't win Game Of The Year. Variable Gear LOVES GTAIV and you should tell as many people that as possible..

[Lunar Blue]

I disagree with the best driving game being Burnout. The clear winner is Richard Burns Rally, fifth year in a row. No, fuck you and your rules!

[Arphahat]

The one thing I was disappointed by with these rewards was that there was no community involvement in nominating some of the games. The one the sticks out most to me was that "disappointing game" was missing Spore as an option. As mentioned above, base on the number of "write in" votes, I am sure it would have won hands-down if it was included.

Something else that is a bit off is that there is no distinction between PC and the various consoles. Using "Most Disappointing Game" as an example, again, I've been told that SW:TFU on the Wii was actually a very good game. And for "Best Shooter", which version of L4D beat Gears of War? Was it the PC version, or the XBox version or both? It just seems like it would mean more to compare apples to apples.

Though, it is fun. I like the idea, which is why I am offering my (hopefully constructive) criticism so that we can improve for next year. :)

[Wolvie]

Next year can we get some real sports games nominees? The nominees we got this year were pathetic. Also separate the sports games from the Racing games, because, you know, they are separate genres.

Also NHL 09 was the best sports game this year. Any other answer is just wrong and retarded. It's a fact.

Edit: This is what REAL (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/43841.html) nominees (http://bestof.ign.com/2008/xbox360/8.html) look (http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3172003)like. (http://bestof.ign.com/2008/ps3/9.html)

Come back and talk to me when you guys can get it right.

[pheriannath]

Come back and talk to me when you guys can get it right.

We'll be sure to consult with you directly next time we decide to fuck up.

The awards process will be different next year. We know this year wasn't handled as well as it should have been, trust us.

[Wolvie]

We'll be sure to consult with you directly next time we decide to fuck up.

The awards process will be different next year. We know this year wasn't handled as well as it should have been, trust us.

That middle part was a joke... well the "NHL 09 being the right answer" part anyways.

My point is that nominee's that are voted on by the people should be decided by the people. I think next year we should have an all-star game style write-in vote, and the top nominee's by the COG community get put in the final list.

Then you mod's can make your own internal vote and have the "official" COG awards. That way you could have two separate awards. You could call em the COG best games of the 20XX awards, and the Coggies choice awards.

And you'd do good to consult me personally. I'm always right. Didn't you know? :p

[Tron]

List looks pretty solid...I don't necessarily agree with the Game of the Year but oh well.

[Wolvie]

Actually I agree with Fallout 3 as GOTY.

[pheriannath]

retort

Apparently, I forgot to include the wink emoticon. ;-)

We'll definitely solicit community nominations next year. Personally, I hope we up the number of nominations per category, as most of the games people complained about not being included in our lists were actually there (but didn't get enough "yeas" to be bumped up).

I've stated elsewhere that we've got a list of the editors' top 5 choices to be posted. My list is awesome.

[Wolvie]

Apparently, I forgot to include the wink emoticon. ;-)

We'll definitely solicit community nominations next year. Personally, I hope we up the number of nominations per category, as most of the games people complained about not being included in our lists were actually there (but didn't get enough "yeas" to be bumped up).

I've stated elsewhere that we've got a list of the editors' top 5 choices to be posted. My list is awesome.

Very cool. Yeah, having a top ten finalists in the final poll would work. I know not everyone will be happy no matter the outcome, but I'm sure giving people a chance to nominate their game will appease those people... I think.

BTW: sorry for getting snippy, I just didn't feel like my opinion(and others) was being considered in these awards. This is a place about the community, so I just thought we should have a say in the matter.

At any rate thanks for listening to me.

[pheriannath]

Trust me, you could feel the collective "whoops" after we posted the first couple of lists.

[Re3x]

NHL 09 is best sports game/driving game. Burnout was biggest letdown for me atleast.

[Variable Gear]

Oh I get it. We shouldn't be voting on games with budgets and advertising. Fucking sheep.
I have no problem with mainstream games getting awards, as long as those games are deserving. I'd argue that Fallout 3 is not worthy of winning RPG of the year when Fable 2 has superior role-playing elements.
Translation: My opinion doesn't match the majority opinion, thus everyone is stupid.
No, I simply disagree with the choices for a few of the awards. I'm not saying that you're all stupid or anything, just that I'm disappointed that the sophmoric style of GTA IV was worthy of the best writing award.
And Variable Gear what is your problem?
I don't have patience for mediocrity. Obviously, in this country, it's wrong to think like that.

[Telefrog]

I'd argue that Fallout 3 is not worthy of winning RPG of the year when Fable 2 has superior role-playing elements.

Oh God. My brain. It cannot handle this impossibility.

It's like looking at an Escher drawing of a division by zero as painted by Dali.

[DoctorFinger]

Oh God. My brain. It cannot handle this impossibility.

It's like looking at an Escher drawing of a division by zero as painted by Dali.
That's going in the ol' signature.

[Spigot]

That's going in the ol' signature.Damn you. *I* was going to sig that!

[Telefrog]

Now, now. No fighting over the sig. I'll always have an abundance of stupid things to memorialize.

[Aggort]

Maybe I should get Fallout 3 finally.
Yes!
Maybe I should get Left 4 Dead finally.
My God Yes!
Maybe I should finally play Mass Effect.
Holy Shit Yes, especially through Steam!
The result which shocked me more than any other was Mass Effect 2's domination of the Most Anticipated Sequel category. Even up against God of War 2, Bioshock 2 & Resident Evil 5, it still won the community award going away. In fact, I think it won by the second largest margin overall. I thought the first ME was very good, but I didn't think it rose to quite that level .
I think the sequel is so highly anticipated thanks to the hype around the improvements they promise to make. Almost a week after the first launched the developers had made remarks admitting some mistakes, particularly in the vehicle department. Usually when the companies understand a mistake and are willing to admit and fix it that quickly, gamers respond! The thing was, like any deep RPG, ME could be played in so many styles, so many ways, so many times that not everyone shares the same experience. I know my second play through, after being able to understand everything much more clearly, was a lot more exciting and I spent more time leveling than I did before which made the game feel much more fluid and balanced.

[Church42]

ME2 is the community's choice for most anticipated sequel?

Hmmm, oh well. Guess more people found it more enjoyable than I did. Needs a bit more variety in enemies & planets...better inventory management and a correction of that lousy Mako.

But oh well, can't agree with everyone. I'm looking forward moreso to the Bioshock sequel :)

[fitbabits]

ME2 is the community's choice for most anticipated sequel?

Hmmm, oh well. Guess more people found it more enjoyable than I did. Needs a bit more variety in enemies & planets...better inventory management and a correction of that lousy Mako.

But oh well, can't agree with everyone. I'm looking forward moreso to the Bioshock sequel :)
How does it feel to be in the minority? :)

Oh, and we need to NOT list Mass Effect 2 as ME2 - every time I see it I think of Mirror's Edge 2.

[Tron]

How does it feel to be in the minority? :)

Oh, and we need to NOT list Mass Effect 2 as ME2 - every time I see it I think of Mirror's Edge 2.

Mass2 from now on.

[fitbabits]

Mass2 from now on.
Works for me! Good suggestion.

[Raen]

I don't have patience for mediocrity. Obviously, in this country, it's wrong to think like that.

That's fine. However calling people sheep is pretty insulting man.

[Hotcod]

Guess more people found it more enjoyable than I did. Needs a bit more variety in enemies & planets...better inventory management and a correction of that lousy Mako.

All of which are likely to happen in the squeal.... which is the point... i rather liked mass effect but it had problems and was hugely disappointing in a lot of ways. If they deliver on the fixes and improvements they have been talking about mass2 could be an truly awesome game.

So in other words we are not voting on how good the first game was but how good the next one might be

[Wolvie]

Trust me, you could feel the collective "whoops" after we posted the first couple of lists.

I kinda figured the whole thing wasn't thought out as well as it could have been. But hey, next year with the help of the COG community we can build a bigger better GOTY awards.

[Primus]

Pretty disappointing awards, but sheep are sheep.

True dat brother.

[RandoM51]

MGS 4 was good, but honestly there were better games out there.

There are always better games out there.

[pseudopseudo]

There are always better games out there.

Peggle Deluxe for "BEST GAVE EVAR"?!?!

[BigJonno]

I agree with most of the list, at least as far as I've played them. Fallout 3 will never beat Fable 2 for me, it has a certain lack of soul that leaves me cold. It's still an awesome game and would probably by GotY for me in another year.

I may have to investigate MGS4. Is it worth getting for someone who loved the first, but hasn't played one since?

I tried the demo for Braid again the other day and finally saw the light. It may have to be my first XBLA purchase.

The one I'm most happy about is Wrath getting best MMO. WoW was getting pretty stale and Blizz had been resting on their laurels for some time. It's an awesome expansion that has totally revitalised the game.

[Spigot]

Peggle Deluxe for "BEST GAVE EVAR"?!?!No, silly. Peggle Nights for BEST GAME EVAR!

With Bookwork Adventures a close second.

[shodan2020]

Tracky hit the nail on the head. I love the ME universe and the story of the first one was pretty great, not to mention all of the various mechanics involved.

Expand the story, fix the technical quirks and have a better universe to explore (less cut & paste planetoids, more unique worldlets) and you've got my vote!

Yeah, I was about 75% of the way through ME when my 360 got snatched (with ME in the drive). I really loved the universe and different alien races. I think for the next one they need to fix the Mako and make less worlds with anomalies behind mountains that are almost impossible to scale... maybe less mountains in general. :)

[Variable Gear]

That's fine. However calling people sheep is pretty insulting man.
I'd like to apologize to anyone that was offended.

[Spigot]

If anyone else was offended, I'll be offended too. Otherwise, I'm cool. Whatever's more popular. :)

[Variable Gear]

I'd like to criticize everyone again, but I'm kind of tired at the moment.

[Squidbot]

I'm astonised LBP is not represented anywhere.

[rinichanraar]

I'm astonised LBP is not represented anywhere.

Me, too. I really think it should have won somewhere. It's a fantastic game.

[Seconds Out]

I'm astonised LBP is not represented anywhere.


Are you really that astonished with the amount of 360 fanboys on this site? PS3 games are shot down before they even have a chance on CoG.

[TrackZero]

Are you really that astonished with the amount of 360 fanboys on this site? PS3 games are shot down before they even have a chance on CoG.

Right. It could have nothing to do with (in my case) generally not thinking the game was the second coming of Christ. Or how every time I played it with a friend we ended up getting angry at each other (for the same issues that Contra had over 20 years ago). It's a great game, but it's only exceptional if you want it to be.

[TrackZero]

No, silly. Peggle Nights for BEST GAME EVAR!

With Bookwork Adventures a close second.

Dude, if I was being a fanboy, I'd completely give Peggle a Coggie. That game has just sucked up so much of my life, LOVE it.

[TrackZero]

ME2 is the community's choice for most anticipated sequel?

Hmmm, oh well. Guess more people found it more enjoyable than I did. Needs a bit more variety in enemies & planets...better inventory management and a correction of that lousy Mako.

But oh well, can't agree with everyone. I'm looking forward moreso to the Bioshock sequel :)

I think that's the point. It has the most potential to become a top tier class series.

[TrackZero]

I have no problem with mainstream games getting awards, as long as those games are deserving. I'd argue that Fallout 3 is not worthy of winning RPG of the year when Fable 2 has superior role-playing elements.


You mean the part of Fable 2 where you blacksmith by hitting a green dot (that has framerate issues) and the value of swords in the word never go down even though you make a mountain of them? Or the busted-ass gimped magic system where Time Control is pretty much a requirement to be able to survive if you're playing a wizard? Or perhaps that great inventory management in your bag of holding (zero weight/realism) which takes forever just to drink a potion? Maybe it was the fantastic part where I only really had 2 choices for my character development for every quest?

Don't get me wrong, I love Fable 2, it's a A grade title. But as far as an "RPG" it certainly wasn't the best.

[Kelegacy]

You mean the part of Fable 2 where you blacksmith by hitting a green dot (that has framerate issues) and the value of swords in the word never go down even though you make a mountain of them? Or the busted-ass gimped magic system where Time Control is pretty much a requirement to be able to survive if you're playing a wizard? Or perhaps that great inventory management in your bag of holding (zero weight/realism) which takes forever just to drink a potion? Maybe it was the fantastic part where I only really had 2 choices for my character development for every quest?

Don't get me wrong, I love Fable 2, it's a A grade title. But as far as an "RPG" it certainly wasn't the best.

Booyah. I agree. And I'd argue about the actual roleplaying, but I won't. Fallout 3 definitely allows you to roleplay more than any game released last year that I know of. Freedom to do what you wish, choose how to accomplish missions, etc. Also, when I roleplay, I like to have a big world to do it in, with plenty of exploration. I don't think Fable can even be called an RPG, or if it is, it's at most RPG-lite. It's an action/adventure game. Pretty darn linear, too. I enjoy the Fable series, but I didn't call the first one an RPG either. The closest comparison I can thing of is Zelda, and most people don't call Zelda an RPG.

[Spigot]

Are you really that astonished with the amount of 360 fanboys on this site? PS3 games are shot down before they even have a chance on CoG.:Yeah....

You could have said that about the general tone over at EvAv, but over here is a quite vocal and large contingent of PS3 users that gush just as readily over PS3 titles as 360. Not everyone HAS a PS3, but PS3 titles aren't instantly trashed, sight unseen.

Show me one PS3 title over that has been blasted unfairly over here.